But a number of Republican lawmakers later officially recorded opposition in the House journal.

Rep. Jim Keffer, a Republican leader from Eastland, went to the microphone after an emotional Farias read HR 1694 and expressed hope “every state in the union is doing what Texas is proudly doing today …. And I’d be proud to add my name to your resolution and I hope that every member, and I won’t speak for every member, but I know that some, their politics under this dome, prevents.

“But I hope, and I pray, every member of the House of Representatives will add his or her name to this wonderful resolution, and support our country, our Commander-in-Chief, and military as we go forward.”

But a handful of Republican members peeled off the resolution.

Rep. Allen Fletcher, R-Tomball

“I support our troops but cannot support a resolution commending Obama’s domestic handling of affairs,” Rep. Randy Weber, R-Pearland, wrote in the journal.

Rep. Allen Fletcher said he would have been OK with a resolution that simply commended the president for finally getting bin Laden.

“But it was a two-page resolution praising President Obama for his actions since he’s been in office. I haven’t agreed with two things he’s done in the last two years,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher has had a son-in-law serve in Afghanistan and a son who served in Iraq.

“I would have liked to have a resolution from the Texas House commending the president for what we accomplished. But I don’t like the fact they had two pages of how great he is and what he’s done when I don’t agree with what he’s done,” Fletcher said.

Hartnett said he had to record a “no” vote because support for such a resolution means “you are vouching for every word.”

Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas

“Words have meaning and can come back to bite an elected official,” said Hartnett, a lawyer.

He couldn’t support, for example, the section of the resolution that said: “Domestically, he has acted with both initiative and organizational acumen toward the precautionary defense of our citizens and has successfully prevented a terrorist attack on American soil during his service to our nation as president.”

Hartnett said he supported the “vast majority” of the resolution.

“He deserves praise,” Hartnett said. “But we don’t get to pick and choose our sentences out of the resolution. When we vote for a resolution, we’re vouching for the entire resolution.

“The proponents of the resolution knew exactly what they were doing,” Hartnett said. “They were making a political gesture. I call that resolution the opening shot in the Obama re-election effort.”

Farias had to suspend House rules for the resolution to bypass a committee hearing, where some of the objectionable language might have been blunted. But Farias says he probably would not have done anything differently “because the things that were said needed to be said.”

All together, 52 Republicans (out of 101) provided notice in the House journal that they needed to clarify their support for the resolution: “We are not endorsing all of the administration’s foreign policies.”